Refrigerating apparatus



May 12, 1959 LIA. WRIGHT REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 14, i957 #1 2 A r l |11 411 o 2 TJ 4 L E@ f@ ze .l

INVENTOR. L ee A. Wr/'g/r/ BY Z United States Patent "ice REFRIGERATING APPARATUS l Lee A. Wright, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to General Motors l This invention relates to refrigerating apparatus and more particularly to an evaporator or the like.

One of the big problems in designing a iin and tube type heat exchanger such as a refrigerant evaporator is that of providing a good heat transfer connection between the tube and the tins. Various arrangements have been used from time to time for expanding the fluid conduit lor tube so as to enlarge the same and thereby press the walls of the tube against the n slots but such arrangements have unduly increased the cost of manufacture. It is an object of this invention to provide a heat exchanger construction wherein thertubing is formed into serpentine shape and the loops thus formed are inserted into slots in a series of fins and wedges are thereafter inserted between the adjacent tubes of each loop so as to force the tubing into rm mechanical contact with the walls of the tin slots.

It is another object of this invention to provide an evaporator construction wherein novel means are provided for wedging the Huid conduits of an evaporator into iirm engagement with the walls of the iin slots.

Another object of this invention is to provide an inexpensive wedge for wedging the tubes into contact with the fin slots and for conducting heat from the tins to the tubes or vice versa.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view showing a preferred embodiment of the invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the arrangement of the tubing and wedge members within a n slot;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view showing the arrangement of the parts on an enlarged scale; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a modified wedge construction.

Referring now to the drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown, reference numeral generally designates a uid conduit which has been bent into serpentine shape and reference numeral 12 designates the tins which are attached to the serpentine tubing. Each of the tins is provided with slots through which loops of the tubing 10 project. In order to increase the area of contact getween each n and the tubing a ange 14 is provided at each of the iin slots as best shown in Figure 2. The ange 14 is made as an integral part of the iin 12. The fin slots are of such a shape and size that the loops of the serpentine coil 10 may be readily passed through the slots in the fins.

After the tins and loops have been assembled, a pair of adjustable wedge elements 16 and 18 are inserted between adjacent tubing portions 20 and 22 of the loops so as to wedge the portions 20 and 22 into rm contact with the ange portions 14 of the tins 12. It will be noted 2,886,296 Patented May 12, 1959 that the wedge elements 16 and 18 are identical to one 'another and that each is tapered in such a manner that lit is easy to insert a pair of wedge elements between the adjacent tubing portions 20 and 22. Once the wedges have been inserted loosely between the tube portions 20 and 22 it is possible to further shift the elements 16 and 1S relative to one another so as to obtain the desired wedging action.

By virtue of the above described construction and arrangement, the wedge elements not only serve to improve the contact between the tins and the tubing, but also serve as additional means for transferring heat from the tubing to the n elements in that the wedge elements 16 and 18 contact both the tubing and the side walls of the ange portion 14 formed on the tins and thus form a metallic heat transfer path between the tubes and the ns.

As best shown :in Figure 3, each of the wedge por tions is provided with a serrated end part 24 which comes into frictional engagement with a portion of the adjacent wedge only after the wedges approach their nal wedging position. These serrated portions serve to hold the wedges in place relative to one another in their tinal assembled relationship.

Whereas the wedges shown in Figures l, 2 and 3 are made in the form of solid bars, it is possible and is in fact preferable to form the wedges from extruded sheet metal parts as shown in Figure 4. Thus a pair of channel shaped wedge elements 26 and 28 which are identical to one another are used in combination with an extruded member 30 which is placed between the meeting flanges of the sheet metal wedge members 26 and 28. It will be noted that this extruded member 30 is provided with a hollow core 32 so as to keep the weight of the parts at a minimum. The preferred material for the tubes, the ns and the wedge elements is aluminum but other materials could be used if desired.

In each of the wedge constructions shown the adjacent tapered wedge elements are offset relative to one another a suflcient amount when they are rst inserted within the 1in slots so as to facilitate insertion. The construction shown has the advantage that it is possible to compensate for slight differences in tin slot sizes and also to compensate for variations in the diameter of the tubing.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, as may come within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In a heat exchanger, a fluid conduit having a loop portion, a plurality of aligned iin means each having a slot for receiving said loop portion, and wedge means between adjacent sections of said loop portion for wedging said sections into firm mechanical contact with the walls of said iin slots, said iin means having ilange portions formed integrally therewith adjacent said slots and arranged to contact said uid conduit and said wedge means.

2. In a heat exchanger, a iiuid conduit having a loop portion, a plurality of aligned iin means each having a slot for receiving said loop portion, and a pair of tapered wedge elements disposed within the said loop portion and being so arranged whereby relative longitudinal displacement of said tapered wedge elements forces the sides of said loop portion into iirrn Contact with the walls of said slot.

3. In a heat exchanger, a uid conduit having a loop portion, tins having slots for receiving said loop portion, and wedge means between the adjacent sides of said loop portion for wedging said uid conduit into firm mechanical contact with the walls of said n slots, said 3 wedge means" comprising a pair of tapered sheet metal chanelelements disposed'within said slots between the adjacent sides of said loop portion.

4. In aheat exchanger, a ui'd conduit having a loop portion', finsV having slots for receiving said loop portion, and a' pairof U-shaped wedge elements and an intermediate guide element between said U-shaped elements all disposed in said slots between adjacent sides of said loop portion, at least one of said elements being wedge shaped' so as to wedge the s-ides of said loop portion 10 against the ends of said n slots.

4 5. In a heat exchanger, uid conduit means including spaced tu'be's, n meanshaving a slot therein for receiving a pair of said tubes and tapered wedge means between said tubes for Wedging said tubes into rm mechanical 5 contact with the walls of said n slot.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 440,671 weisel Nov. 1s, 1890 

